Local CD Reviews

The Flipside and Suede Brothers Get Graded

Five years ago, local singer-songwriters Beth "Flip" Hyland, Mark
Ronan, Bob "Gib" Gibbons, Brian Baddour and Jack Mizenko figured they'd
sound better together than apart, so they formed the Flipside and
became one of the best local folk acts. Pick any song off their debut,
Listen to the Heartbeat, and you'll hear the influences of some
great folksingers. Beth Hyland's singing on "Dance With Me Paddy" bears
striking similarities to Joni Mitchell's. And the acoustic guitar on
"Hometown Girl" is reminiscent of Neil Young. While both songs are
skillfully done, the band really shines on original tunes like "My Good
Friend" and "Travel Lightly." — Julia Kazar

The Suede Brothers' sound is even bigger and badder on their loaded
fist of a second EP. The tasty riff on "Homebreaker" has passing
similarities to a gnarly Queens of the Stone Age nugget. Then they're
off into uncharted territory. Pere Ubu producer Paul Hamann recorded
the disc, helping the power trio develop their thoroughly original
sound. Chief among the epic tracks is the seven-minute "Lady Luck,"
which climaxes in a Clydesdale gallop and collapses into a pile of
distortion and feedback. Frontman Dylan Francis is still a better
axe-slinger than singer, though the gap is narrowing. The rhythm
section — drummer Mike Varga and bassist Kevin Naughton —
locks together on tunes like start-stop-go rocker "So Low." —
D.X. Ferris